Introduction 

Since we, the Liz Mohn Center, operate the online services, we are the controller for the processing of the personal data concerning users of those services. You can find our contact data in the Impressum (legal notice). The points of contact for questions about the processing of personal data are named directly in this privacy policy. 

We take the protection of your privacy and your private data very seriously. We collect, store, and use your personal data only in accordance with the content of this privacy policy and the applicable data protection law provisions, including in particular the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and national data protection legislation. 

This privacy policy will inform you about the extent to which and the purpose for which personal data are processed in connection with the use of the online services. 

Personal data 

“Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. This includes information about your identity such as your name, email address, and postal address. Information that cannot be associated with your identity (such as statistical data on the number of users of the online services), on the other hand, is not deemed personal information. 

You can generally use our online services without revealing your identity or disclosing any personal data. We will then collect only general information about the visit to our online services. For many of the services offered, however, personal data will be collected from you. We will then generally process those data only for purposes of using these online services, in particular to provide the information requested. When personal data are collected, only the data that are absolutely necessary must be disclosed. Information beyond that can also be disclosed, but such disclosure is considered voluntary. We will always indicate which fields are considered mandatory and which are considered voluntary. We will then inform you of the specific details in the appropriate section of this data privacy notice. 

No automated decisions will be made based on your personal data in connection with the use of our online services. 

Processing personal information 

We will store your information on specially protected servers within the European Union. Those servers have been protected through technical and organizational measures against any loss, destruction, access, modification, or unauthorized dissemination of your data. Only a few authorized people can access your data. They are responsible for the technical, commercial, or editorial support of the servers. Despite periodic monitoring, however, complete protection against all risks is impossible. 

Your personal data will be transmitted across the internet in encrypted form. We use an SSL encryption (Secure Socket Layer) for that data transmission. 

Forwarding personal data to third parties 

As a general principle, we use your personal information only to render the services you request. If we use external service providers when rendering those services, their access to the data will also be exclusively in order to render them. We use technical and organizational measures to ensure compliance with data protection law provisions, and we obligate our external service providers to do the same.  

Furthermore, we will not pass the data on to third parties (in particular for advertising purposes) without your express consent. Your personal data will be forwarded only if you have consented to that forwarding or if we are entitled or obligated to forward them based on statutory provisions or an official or court order. In particular, this can involve providing information for purposes of criminal prosecution, averting danger, or asserting intellectual property rights. 

Legal bases for data processing 

If we have obtained your consent to process your personal data, that processing is legally based on Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. 

If we must process your personal data to fulfill a contractual or quasi-contractual relationship with you, that processing is legally based on Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. 

If we are processing your personal data to comply with a legal obligation, that processing is legally based on Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR. 

Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR can also be deemed a legal basis for processing your personal data if that processing is necessary to protect a legitimate interest of our foundation or a third party and your interests, basic rights, and basic freedoms do not require the personal data to be protected. 

Within the scope of this privacy policy, we will always indicate our legal basis for processing your personal data. 

Data erasure and storage duration 

As a general principle, we will always erase or block your personal data when the purpose for storing them no longer applies. They can be stored beyond that, however, if this is provided for through legal regulations to which we are subject, such as those regarding statutory retention and documentation obligations. In such a case, we will erase or block your personal data after the regulation in question no longer applies.  

Use of our online services 

Use of cookies 

Our online services – like many other websites – use cookies. Cookies are small text files stored on your computer which contain certain settings and data to be communicated to our online services via your browser. A cookie normally contains the name of the domain from which the cookie file was sent, as well as information on the age of the cookie and an alphanumeric identifier. 

Cookies allow us to recognize your computer and make any presets instantly available. Cookies help us improve our online services and offer you better, more customized service. This constitutes our legitimate interests in the data processing pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. 

The cookies we use are known as “session cookies,” which are deleted automatically after your browser session ends. Cookies with a longer storage duration can also be used on an individual basis so that your presets and preferences can still be considered during your next visit to our online services. 

Most browsers are set to accept cookies automatically. You can deactivate the storage of cookies, however, or set your browser to notify you as soon as cookies are sent. You can also use the browser settings to manually delete cookies that have already been stored. Please keep in mind that if you reject the storage of cookies or erase necessary cookies, your use of our online services might be restricted or even impossible under certain circumstances. 

Communicating with us 

You can contact us in various ways, including by using the contact form on our internet site. Furthermore, we will periodically email you newsletters to inform you about various topics. 

Contact form 

If you would like to use the contact form in our online services, we will collect to that end the personal data you’ve disclosed in the contact form, in particular your name and email address. We will also store the date and time of the request. We will process the data transmitted through the contact form only so we can answer your request or concern.  

You can decide which information you transmit to us via the contact form. The legal basis for processing your data is your consent in accordance with Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. 

After we’ve handled the matter, the data will initially be stored in case there are any further inquiries. Deletion of the data may be requested at any time; otherwise, the deletion is performed after the matter has been completely taken care of; statutory retention obligations remain unaffected. 

Using YouTube 

YouTube videos are embedded into our online services. To play those videos back, we use a plugin of YouTube, a service operated by Google (“YouTube”). The service is operated by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland (“Google”). 

We use the YouTube service in advanced privacy mode to protect your privacy as much as possible. If you call up an internet site of our online services on which a YouTube has been embedded, Google will initially receive only the information it needs for the integration and no cookies will be placed for usage analysis. Only if you play the embedded video will Google receive further information; to that end, Google can also place cookies to analyze your user behavior. This data processing through Google is necessary for playing YouTube videos and is stipulated by YouTube. We have no influence on this data processing and recommend that you consider this before playing a YouTube video on our internet site. When you play the video, Google’s YouTube servers will be informed, for example, of the page of our online services through which you are playing the video. 

If you are logged into your YouTube account, you make it possible for Google or YouTube to allocate your surfing behavior directly to your personal Google profile. We therefore recommend that you play embedded YouTube videos only if you agree to the associated data processing by Google. You can prevent the data allocation to your Google profile by logging out of your YouTube account. For more information on how user data are handled, see Google’s Privacy Policy: https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy/, which also applies to YouTube. 

We use YouTube so we can show you videos and better inform you about us and our services. The legal basis for embedding the videos is our legitimate interests for the purposes of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. 

Your rights and how to contact us 

We place great value on explaining the processing of your personal data to you as transparently as possible and informing you of the rights to which you are entitled. If you would like more detailed information or wish to assert the rights to which you are entitled, you can contact us at any time so we can tend to your concerns. 

Rights of data subjects 

You are entitled to extensive rights regarding the processing of your personal data. First, you have an extensive right to information and can demand that your personal data be rectified, erased, or blocked, as the case may be. You may also demand that the processing be restricted and you may lodge an objection. You also have a right to data portability regarding the personal data you transmitted to us. 

If you wish to assert your rights or receive further information in this regard, please contact our employees using the contact form. Alternatively, you can contact our data protection officer.  

Withdrawing consent and lodging an objection 

Once you have granted consent, you may freely withdraw it at any time with effect for the future. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of the processing already performed based on that consent. The points of contact for this are also our employees (via the contact form) and our data protection officer.  

If the processing of your personal data is not based on your consent, but on other legal grounds, you may object to that processing. After you raise your objection, the data processing will be examined and, if applicable, terminated. You will be informed about the result of the examination and, if the data processing will continue, will receive more detailed information from us on why the data processing is permissible. 

Data protection officer and telephone number 

We’ve appointed an external data protection officer who supports us in maters of data protection law and whom you can contact directly. If you have questions about how we handle personal data, or would like additional information about topics related to data protection law, our data protection officer and his team will be glad to help: 

RA Dr. Sebastian Meyer, LL.M. 

c/o BRANDI Rechtsanwälte 
Adenauerplatz 1 
33602 Bielefeld, Germany 
Phone: +49 (0)521 / 96535-812 

Email: datenschutz@bertelsmann-stiftung.de 

If you would like to contact our data protection officer personally, you can also send an email to sebastian.meyer@brandi.net 

Complaints 

If you believe our processing of your personal data breaches this privacy policy or applicable data protection regulations, you may lodge a complaint with our data protection officer. The data protection officer will then examine the matter and inform you of the result. You may also lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. 

Further information and changes 

Links to other websites 

Our online services might contain links to other websites. Those links are normally identified as such. We cannot influence the extent to which the data protection regulations are complied with on the linked websites. We therefore recommend that you also read the privacy policies of the other websites you visit.  

Amendments to this privacy policy 

The status of this privacy policy is indicated through the date given below. We reserve the right to amend this privacy policy at any time with effect for the future. In particular, we will amend it to keep up with technical adjustments to the online services or if data protection regulations change. The current version of the privacy policy is always retrievable directly through the online services. We recommend that you read the changes made to this privacy policy on a regular basis. 

Status of this privacy policy: February 2022